Kigahen Nushi
|image = |name = |kanji = |romanji = |race = Shinigami |birthday = Janurary 22nd |age = 230 |gender = Male |height = 6'0'' |weight = 140 |eyes = Blue |hair = Red |blood type = O+ |affiliation = Soul Society Shinigami Institute of Research and Development |previous affiliation = none |occupation = Captain |previous occupation = none |team = 12th Division |previous team = none |partner = none |previous partner = none |base of operations = 12th Squad Barracks |marital status = Single |relatives = none |education = Shinho Academy |status = Alive |shikai = |bankai =}} is the captain of the 12th Division as well as the president of the Shinigami Institute of Research and Development. Having worked his way up from 15th seat of the division, within 50 years he was promoted to captain. Known for his great intellect, he used the Institute's time to experiment rather than research, resulting in the experiments labeled A-AB and the three escaped experiments labeled A,X and Z. Appearance Kigahen is quite tall and noticeably so. He is very lanky with long limbs but barely any meat to them. His mother once described him as looking sickly and tried to fatten him up when he was a kid. He has wild, long, dark red hair that is very unkempt and covers half of his face most of the time. Most of his hair hangs to his right side, spiking out while one spike goes upwards over his left eye. The left side of his hair is shorter but spiked as well. He has dark blue eyes that seem almost unnaturally so. They sit in the middle of his rather small head. His eyes have a dark shadow surrounding them, resulting from skipping sleep in order to work. His arms have a few small tattoos, two bands around his wrist and a check mark further up the arm. The tattoos are another of his experiments which can be pulled up into two actual bands and a spear. He wears a standard Captain's uniform, shihakusho and haori, but usually keeps his haori hanging slightly off of his shoulder. He wears a grey undershirt beneath his shihakusho. He has a white belt which carries his scabbard but often he prefers to just carry his sword around in his hands. Personality Kigahen is a very excitable person. The smallest things are enough to make him giddy. He is known for playing practical jokes on the members of his squad but due to his inability to control himself from laughing, he rarely succeeds in luring a person into one of his pranks as they picks up on his laughter and are alerted to what is to come. Many new recruits to the division are warned beforehand of his many pranks and Kigahen's pranks often are considered an initiation right within the division. As a child he was quite shy, never wanting to put himself out there. He did not have many friends and other children found it strange that he liked toys so much. This changed when he entered the academy as he began learning that others would accept him. He started to open up to people and found his love of pranks. Unlike previous presidents of the Institute, Kigahen prefers experiments and creation to research and studying already existing things. He loves taking subjects and turning them into a new creation, completely different than anything else. This is what drove him to start his experimentation projects which resulted in the creation of 28 unique subjects. His love of experimentation has gotten him in trouble several times though. The Captain Commander has ordered him on 3 different occasions to cease and desist on an experiment that he believed had no purpose other than to just toy around. Though he is very upbeat, he bears a deep fear for the first of his experiments, Experiment A. This led him to delete all information concerning him after his defection and escape. He often fears that A will come back to try and kill him. At nights, he will sometimes have nightmares of his return and will awake in a cold sweat. Only recently has her felt any remorse for what he has done. Upon the escape of subjects X and Z, he realized that his love of experimentation may benefit him but it causes nothing but pain to his subjects. For this reason, he shut down the series of experiments, making AB his last experiment. History Kigahen was born in Soul Society to the Nushi family, a long line of Shinigami. During childhood he often took his toys apart and put them back together in different ways. He would take the head of one two and place it on the body of another while taking the arms and putting them in the leg sockets. His sister hated him for ruining all of her dolls this way. When he lost the head of her favorite doll, she broke into tears and slapped him, prompting Kigahen to never touch her stuff again. He spent much of his time in his child hood away from others. He was too shy to make friends and preferred to tamper with toys instead of putting himself out there. It was not until his days in the academy that he opened up. His daily routine usually consisted of waking up, playing with his toys, tormenting his sister and going to bed. He did not stray from his routine often. At an early age, Kigahen was noted to have traces of spiritual power. With time, it grew stronger and Kigahen knew that going to the Shinhō Academy would be the best option for him. He applied and was accepted. It was here that his true genius began to shine. Classes were too easy for him and he often skipped classes in areas he had already mastered. By his fourth year, he had had almost completely stopped going to class. He worked out a deal and was allowed to graduate early. Once out of the Academy, he was accepted into the 12th division. Within ten years he had managed to become the 3rd seat of the division and was considered to be one of the largest assets to the division. He spent the next 20 years happily working in the Institute and helmed a project to create a better Denreishinki. He worked tirelessly at it for a year but ultimately it was a failure. Despite this, he received heavy praise for his efforts. One night, the division was sent to collect data on a Hollow that had somehow vanished from their facilities. The Vice-Captain, Kigahen and two other seated officers were sent to investigate. Once there, they found that the Hollow was indeed gone but its cage was still in tact and showed no signs of being tampered with. As the looked though, the Hollow reappeared and stabbed the Vice-Captain. Kigahen and the others took up their swords and engaged the Hollow. They began to figure out that its ability was to teleport itself. The battle lasted for hours as they constantly needed to search for the Hollow. When finally it was defeated, the Vice-Captain had passed. Kigahen took both bodies back to the barracks. The Hollow's abilities would later be incorporated into Experiment X. A few days passed and Kigahen was selected to be the new Vice-Captain. He remained at that post for another 20 years before the Captain retired. With recommendations from two other captains, Kigahen took and passed the Captain's exam and took over the division as well as the institute. When he took over the division, he began focusing the Institute's time on creation and experimentation rather than research. His squad quickly learned to respect him as a leader and followed suit in his experimentation. For their first true experiment, they decided to try and create the perfect hybrid of Hollow and Shinigami. To stand out, one of their low level researchers volunteered to become the subject of the experiment. The project began and soon became a success. The subject, labeled Experiment A, began to exhibit a perfect mix of Hollow and Shinigami powers. However, as time went on, the experiment began acting out before one day going on a rampage and escaping. Kigahen began to fear the return of his experiment and feared for his life. He deleted all records and declared that the experiment never took place. Over the years, he began developing new experiments. Some were successes, some failures. The most significant of his experiments was X, a completely original creation that was no one race. He took pride in his experiments. One day however, one of them, Z, broke out, causing a panic. In the commotion, X escaped as well. The escapes drove him into a state of depression for a time. After recovering he has canceled further experiments and the line ended at AB. Inventions Experiments A-AB: Kigahen invented much of the material and processes that went into creating the experiments of The Institute. This includes the teleportation abilities of Experiment X, the mind linked sword of Experiment Z and constant ressurection state of A. Matter Transportation: Kigahen invented a means of transporting small objects from one place to another. The transportation requires an activation key, which Kigahen has hidden in the tattoos on his arms. At this time, Kigahen can only transport small objects but hopes to one day expand the scope of this. Equipment Kigahen uses his matter transportation technique to bring two pieces of equipment to him any time he finds himself in battle. Magnetic Bands: By placing his index finger directly on top of the two stripe tattoos on his arms, he can summon a magnetic band over them. The bands create a small repulsory magnetic field. Any form of metal is repulsed when it comes into range of the field. This includes a Zanpakuto. The field is rather small and weak though, extending only two feet from Kigahen's arms and not exerting too much force. With enough strength, metal is able to penetrate it but at a reduced speed. Often in battle these serve as a means of slowing an opponent's sword swings. Electric Spear: By placing his index finger directly on the check mark tattoo on either arm, he can summon a collapsible spear to his hand. The spears can be extended and when done, begin emitting an electric charge. Kigahen throws the spear at his opponents. The spears, when they pierce through skin, begin emitting an electric current that then acts as a microwave, frying an opponent from the inside. The spears cause paralysis while they are emitting their current but strong opponents have been able to pull the spears out of themselves. Powers & Abilities Great Spiritual Power: Kigahen has a spiritual power slightly higher than an average captain. It is said to feel stranger than normal reiatsu, most likely due to the experiments he has done to himself, though exactly what experiments are unknown. It is a wild red in color. Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Kigahen is quite proficient with a sword and prefers its use in combat. While not a master by any means, he has been shown to be able to fend for himself against other more proficient combatants such as the current Kenpachi whom Kigahen will often have friendly sparring matches with. Kenpachi claims that if Kigahen were not so busy in the laboratory, he could easily become one of the most proficient swordsmen in Soul Society. Kidō Master: He is one of the most proficient kido users in all of Soul Society. He has been seen using a level 90 kido spell without incantation and having no trouble with it at all. He claims that kido is the simple manipulation of reiatsu into various forms and as such, anyone of his intellect should have no problem using it to the fullest. Hakuda Expert: While not one to usually use it, Kigahen has some skill in hakuda. He is able to take take down bladed opponents with his hands without too much difficulty. During one of his sparing matches with the current Kenpachi, Kigahen attempted to battle without a sword and had a surprising amount of success, being able to land several blows and coming close to winning. Genius Intellect: Kigahen's intellect has been said to rival that of the former 12th division heads, Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi. His intelligence often goes into planning elaborate pranks though. When not planning pranks, Kigahen has shown an extreme ability to plan and think out things far in advance, able to think of every possible thing that could go wrong in an experiment and account for it. Kigahen notes that at any one time, he has over one thousand thoughts running through his head. Shunpo Master: Kigahen has completely mastered the use of Shunpo. During the creation of Experiment X and his teleportation abilities, members of the division would often place bets on who could reach a target first, the teleporting X or Kigahen and his Shunpo. Often times these little races ended in a tie, showcasing just how fast Kigahen is. Master Strategist/Tactician: Due to his intellect, Kigahen is able to plan things out far ahead and come up with the best way to go about things. He often plans for everything that can go wrong and plans a counter for it. Often though, he wastes this skill on his childish pranks, setting up Rube Goldberg like devices for his own amusement. Zanpakutō Shinka (進化 Evolution): While sealed, the sword takes the form of a standard katana. Its handle is black with a red diamond pattern adorning it. The guard is a simple square and gold in color. The blade itself is covered in nicks and dents that never repaired themselves due to the many changes Kigahen made to his sword. He likes them as he says it makes him look tougher. :Shikai: The sword is released with the phrase, "Only the Strongest Survive". Releasing causes Kigahen to temporarily disappear from sight. When he reappears, his form has changed dramatically. His complexion has darkened along with his hair. His body has grown more muscular and wears armor with a skull on the side and a green hooded cape. The sword has grown to a large broadsword. ::Shikai Special Ability: Shinka allows Kigahen to control the progress of whatever it touches, meaning he can furhter somethings progress through life of their progress in their state of being. He explains that progress is everything and that he can progress the age of things, making them older or he can progress the mastery of something, progressing someone's skill with something. By progressing the level of communication of a zanpakuto with their master, he can grant Shikai or Bankai. He can progress the power of a Menos, evolving them into an Adjuchas or Vasto Lorde. He is limited by possibilities though, only being able to progress something that is possible, meaning that if he tries to progress something into a state that it cannot achieve, it will not work. Kigahen is unable to use his zanpakutos abilities on himself though. The effects of his zanpakuto wear off once the sword is sealed meaning that progress returns to what it was. Kigahen is currently searching for a way to make its effects permanent. :Bankai, Kengenijō(権限委譲 Devolution): The release of Bankai causes Kigahen to disappear once more by fading from sight. Once he is back, his form has changed slightly again. His clothes become darker, now with shades of blue and brown and gold. The sword changes into a golden form of itself and his hair becomes silver in color. ::Bankai Special Abilitiy: Kigahen's control over progress further increases. He can now control backward progress as well as forward. He is able to rob an opponent of a state, meaning he can take away their Bankai or Shikai by reversing the progress they made in communicating with the spirit of their sword. He can make them grow younger or with enough power and time, cause them to have never existed. The speed with which he is able to progress things is also enhanced. Whereas before it could take up to a full minute of contact to enhance a state, he can now do it in around twenty seconds of contact. :::Ichiyou (一様 Equality): A special ability of his Bankai. By focusing large amounts of power into his sword, the next time he strikes his opponent, he can make all of their skills equal on a level of his choosing. If they are a master of zanjutsu, expert of hakuda, master of kido and shunpo practitioner, he is able to change the progress the opponent has made in each of these to the level of his choosing.